Victory Champagne
by storywriter84
Summary: Post 4:14, "The Becoming." Starts with Derek at the liquor store and continues from there. Reviews are appreciated. FINALLY FREAKING UPDATED! Officially a Bones/GA crossover fic as of Chapter Ten.
1. Chapter 1

"You're an idiot."

"I know," Derek said, searching the shelves of the Wine & Spirit store. "I know, Emma, but she didn't want me to stay."

"Why should she," his youngest sister asked, angrily, "you're with the nurse. Fine, Rose. But, whatever, how could she ask you to stay when you had plans with _Rose_?"

It was times like this that he really wished he didn't tell his sister almost everything. Emma hadn't liked the idea of Rose since he brought her up a few months ago. He sighed as he stood there scanning the labels. It had to be really good champagne . . . victory champagne . . . and it needed to be a big bottle because Derek foresaw lots of celebrating . . . in the future.

"You're an idiot," Emma repeated. "You're an idiot and Mark is an idiot. I can't believe they had to instill a Date and Tell Policy. I mean, how childish."

"Yeah, I don't know," he said, not paying attention.

"Derek!"

"What," he asked, picking a bottle from the shelf and looking it over. It had to be perfect.

"What did you do," she asked.

"Huh?"

"You did something . . . something bad. Now, tell me what it is or I won't stop Mom the next time she threatens to book a flight to Seattle."

"How many times has she done that," Derek asked, curiously. He missed his Mom.

"Only twice a day, every day, since I told here where you're at."

"Oh," Derek said, placing the bottle back on the shelf. "Now probably isn't a good time," he said.

Emma sighed. "What did you do?"

"I was with Rose."

"Obviously, Derek," she said, "you two are dating. What does that have to do with . . . oh my god, you ass. You _slept_ with her? You know, Derek, for a Brain Surgeon, you're pretty damn brainless sometimes. I actually worry that you cut people's heads open and take sharp objects to their brain."

"Stop it, Emma," he said irritated, "it didn't mean anything."

"Like the kiss," she prompted. "Please tell me that you used protection," Emma said, nearly pleading.

"Yes," Derek said, picking up another bottle. He had no idea what he was going to do about it. He had thought about Meredith the entire time. Meredith . . . he really missed her. He missed her despite the fact they had been working closely together and seeing each other everyday. He missed touching her. He missed the way her eyes sparked. He missed her laughed. He couldn't remember the last time he heard her laugh.

He found a bottle that would work . . . it was perfect. He took his purchase to the register.

"Did you find everything you were looking for," the cashier asked.

"Yes, thank you," Derek replied, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket with his free hand.

"Where are you," Emma asked.

"The liquor store."

Emma sighed. "And what are you doing at the liquor store?"

"Buying champagne," Derek said, with a smile on his face. "Victory Champagne."

"What are you celebrating?"

"Nothing, yet," he answered, pulling out his credit card, "but as soon as Meredith and I save our first clinical trial patient . . . we're going to celebrate." He took his card back and stuffed his wallet back into his pocket.

He decided he should call Emma more, because she called him on his crap and he didn't get mad at her for it.

"How's Mark doing?"

"I haven't seen him much today," Derek confessed. "He was alright yesterday though. I think he's still at the hospital."

"Um. . ."

"What?"

"I just got an email from Mom," Emma said. "She wants all of us to go to Seattle to see you. You know, if you just called her, like once a week, things like this wouldn't happen. None of them are talking to Mark, you know."

Derek sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"It's stupid," Emma said, "but Nancy came back and started repeating everything you said . . . anyway, they're all mad at the both of them. I talked to Addison the other day."

"Yeah? She was in Seattle a week or two back."

"She said," Emma laughed, "she's dating a cop."

"Are you okay with that?"

"We talked it over," Emma said. "I'm always going to be concerned that what happened to Miles will happen to this guy that Addie's with. Kevin. His name is Kevin. But, he seems to have a good head on his shoulders and Addie has Naomi and Sam."

Derek nodded. "I'm glad she's happy."

"You need to talk to Meredith."

Derek sighed, placing the bottle on the floor in the back. "I will. I'm on my way now. We lost are latest patient after I left."

"Was there anyway to prevent it?"

"I won't know for sure until I look over the labs. You should see her, Emma, she's brilliant. She did the research for this all by herself and even though she didn't want to talk to me, she trusted me enough to help her see this through."

Emma smiled. "See, there's still hope. Don't make me come out there, Derek. I'm really busy."

"Erica Hahn's a wonderful surgeon," Derek teased, "I'm sure I could talk her into finishing your Fellowship."

"Shut it, Big Brother, I have enough going on without moving across the country. Promise me you'll fix this _and_ call Mom and I'll do my best to keep her on this side of the Mississippi River."

"It's a deal. Alright, I'm going to go. Thanks for talking with me."

"Anytime, Big Brother, anytime. I think Abby woke up. I'll talk to you later."

"Kiss her good night for me," Derek said, thinking of his niece.

"Yeah, yeah, go be with her, Derek, it's hard losing a patient but I imagine this is a little worse."

"Yeah, alright, miss you already."

"Shut it, Big Brother. Gotta go."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Derek disconnected the phone and turned the ignition. It was time to talk to Meredith.

Author's Note: I've used the name Emma once or twice for Derek's sister before. I like the idea of Derek's family and hope they make it out to Seattle soon. He has Mark, but I think he needs more than that. Anyway, I hope you liked it.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Text messages and emails are in italics

Author's Note: Text messages and emails are in italics.

Chapter Two

_How did it go?_

Derek sighed, as he stepped into the elevator. His sister, not unlike Meredith, expected greatness from him. He had actually been dreading the moment the texts messages started. Derek and Emma had been messaging each other every day since Derek arrived in Seattle. They used to message each other when they were both in New York, in the same hospital, too, but this was different because it wasn't likely they would run into each other between surgeries.

_Nothing we could have done. Virus reverted. Unavoidable._

Derek pocketed his phone, hoping that was enough for now. He felt like he was letting everyone down lately. The list was endless: Meredith, Emma, his Mom, his other sisters: Kathleen, Nancy, and Tessa, Mark and . . . and Rose. He hadn't talked to Rose since last night . . . since they had been _together_. He had been thinking of Meredith the whole time and in his mind, if felt like he was cheating on her.

The elevator doors opened and the person consuming his every-waking thought walked in with two of her interns.

"Dr. Grey," he greeted, "Dr. O'Malley, Dr. Aaron."

"Dr. Shepard," they mumbled back.

"Dr. O'Malley, the Chief tells me that you're his intern now."

"Yes, Sir," Dr. O'Malley replied.

"What exactly does that mean," Derek asked. When Richard had stopped him earlier that morning Derek hadn't known what to say when he told him that he had made George O'Malley the Chief's intern.

"I'm Chief Webber's intern," O'Malley said, looking at Derek as if he had grown a second head. He caught a glimpse of Meredith smiling out of the corner of his eye. Just that glimpse made his heart soar and he wasn't sure it was going to come back. Not that his heart was in his chest to begin with, Meredith held it firmly in her little, ineffectual hands whether she knew it or not.

_That is NOT what I'm talking about and you know it. Spill!_

Derek frowned, reading the latest text message from Emma. Yes, he had given Meredith hope last night with their clinical trail – something to look forward to – but it probably wasn't what his sister had had in mind when she told him to talk to her.

"Everything okay, Derek," Meredith asked, quietly so O'Malley and Aaron couldn't here.

"My sister," Derek explained, "she's, uh, giving me a hard time."

Meredith smirked. "Good." And then all emotion left her face as if she remembered she wasn't supposed to be talking to Derek about personal things. If Derek's heart were in his chest, it would have fallen to the floor to see Meredith like that. He sighed. The next time the doors opened, Meredith and her interns got off. Meredith looked back and for a split second they shared a smile before the elevator doors closed.

Maybe Meredith saw through his speech last night to what he really wanted to say. That would certainly explain her behavior this morning. Derek decided not to think about it for a while as he made his way to his office. He grabbed his laptop from his bag and booted it up and he sipped his coffee. He hadn't checked his email since last night and Emma had promised pictures sometime during the conversation on the phone while he had been in the liquor store.

There it was, the email from Emma.

_If anyone finds out that I talk to you at least once a day, I'd be a dead doctor. Should that happen, I want you to take Abby in. I'm being serious. Today, Kathleen and I went to breakfast together and she knows something is up. If she figures it out, she'll tell Nancy and Tessa and Mom. And then they'll kill me._

_Helen Crawford says hello. Great job on the surgery. I never did mention that._

_Anyway, Mom is hell-bent on coming to Seattle and I don't think I can stop her. She went as far as calling Chief Travers to see if I could get time off to go visit you with them. Travers was incredibly accommodating. You should call him or something so I don't have to go. It's not that I don't want to see you, big brother, but I don't want to see the blood bath that will be the Shepard reunion when they get their hands on you._

_Oh, and tell Mark to call me back, I have some things I want to tell him but he has to have the time to listen. So, yeah, the pictures are attached. They're from Dylan's birthday. Kathleen is so upset that he turned thirteen. Like it was never going to happen._

_We all miss you. Stay out of trouble._

_Your favorite Sister,_

_Emma_

_PS – Talk to her! I know you didn't, you piss ant! Don't make me get Kathleen to psychoanalyze you. I know how you hate it._

Derek clicked through the pictures. He knew his sister, Tessa, was pregnant with her fourth kid, but she looked ridiculously huge for only being five months along. Maybe she was having twins - that would be cool. Derek sighed, missing his family all over again. All the kids had gotten so big, especially Emma's daughter Abby. Derek could remember the day she was born. He had stood in the waiting room with Mark and Miles. Miles had been kicked out of the room earlier and had had no desire to return until the baby was safely delivered.

It sucked that Miles only lived for another year. Emma had mentioned that Addie was dating a cop. Alright, so a cop and an FBI agent were different, but not when it came down to it. He hoped Addie was alright.

Derek shook his head, as if trying to release his negative, worrying thoughts, as his pager beeped at him. He would talk to Meredith later, whether she wanted to or not, right now he had a life to save.

GAGAGAGA

A semi-truck had careened out of control on the interstate and there were a ton of patients flooding the ERs of Seattle Grace, Seattle Presbyterian, and Mercy West hospitals. Derek had been involved in endless consults and surgeries. He had felt incredibly lucky just to have Meredith nearby all day. He hadn't seen Rose, though, and he briefly wondered as he found an empty on-call room, if she was avoiding him as much as he was avoiding her.

The door opened as soon as Derek was comfortable in the bottom bunk. He looked at the door, waiting to see who was coming in.

"Derek?"

He unconsciously held his breath. _Meredith_.

"Derek?"

"Yes, Meredith," Derek responded quietly.

She came in and closed the door. "I know that your tired and everything, but I bought you a coffee. There's another ambulance about ten minutes out with head trauma. I thought you could use it."

Derek swung his legs out of the bed and sat up, patting the bed beside him. Meredith hesitated for a moment before claiming the spot beside him and handing him the coffee. "Thank you, Mer, I appreciate it." She nodded. She opened her mouth, looking as if she wanted to say something, but then closed it instead. Derek sighed. "If you're up to it, later, I mean, I was hoping we could talk. I, uh, have some things I've been meaning to say. It isn't anything bad," he quickly assured her, studying her face, "but just something I really feel I need to say."

She nodded. "Sure," she said, "page me later. We should, uh, go meet the ambulance." And with that she was up and across the room, holding the door open. "Derek, I have some things that I want to say, too. So, yeah, page me . . . later." Then the door closed and she was on the other side.

Derek wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to say but he was going to have to talk to Rose beforehand. There was no way around it.

Author's Note: So, I hope that this chapter is equally satisfying. I got a ton of positive feedback last chapter, which is really exciting. I'm going to try and stay focused on the Derek/Meredith, Derek/Family dynamic but Meredith's family will be coming into play soon, too, I think. Let me know what you think, I appreciate it.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: In this chapter, Derek and Rose part ways and Mark makes a phone call

Author's Note: In this chapter, Derek and Rose part ways and Mark makes a phone call.

Chapter Three

The head trauma patient had been DOA. They tried to revive him, but were unable.

"Meredith," he said, finding her by a nurse's station. Olivia glared at him. With a confused look on his face, he turned back to Meredith. "Do you have a minute?" They went into an empty linen closet for some form of privacy. "I have some things that I need to do. I noticed you were off tomorrow. I was wondering if we could talk later tonight. Maybe at the trailer? I really want to talk to you."

Meredith looked at him skeptically, as if trying to figure out what he was going to say. "Yeah, I'm going to Joe's with Cristina and Izzie. Call me and I'll meet you," she said.

Derek couldn't believe how easy this was going. Now, if things could just stay that easy. "Great," he said, leaning forward and kissing her cheek without thinking about it, "I'll call you soon." And then he left. It had felt right, kissing her cheek. He didn't care if she got angry over it. Not that he thought she would be. She had to see what he was trying to do, right? No, probably not.

He found Rose waiting for him outside the Attending's locker room.

"Are we going back to my place," she asked.

"Let me change," he said, "and then we can figure it out." She nodded and he went into the locker room. He was going to talk to Rose and then talk to Meredith. He sent a text to Mark, reminding him to call Emma, and then changed into street clothes. He should call his mother, but he decided to wait until the morning. He was probably going to spend a large part of his evening being yelled at and could wait for his mother to add her part. He grabbed his bag and went to meet Rose, hoping that it wouldn't take long to have this conversation.

He was an ass. And a jerk. He didn't deserve either one of the women in his life so he was cutting one lose and begging the other one not to kick him to the curb forever.

Rose has a small smile on her face when he made it back into the hallway. "Let's go for a walk," she suggested.

Derek was barely able to contain his sigh of relief. Maybe _she_ was going to break up with _him_. Wouldn't that be a kick in the face? And funny to boot. He nodded, allowing her to link her arm in his.

"I have a confession to make," Rose said as the started down the sidewalk outside of the hospital. "And my confession is this: I'm in love with you." Rose took care not to look at Derek as they walked. "But I know that you don't love me. I know this," she said, taking a deep breath, "because I see how you look at Dr. Grey. I'm actually kind of pissed that you strung me along like you did. You don't see a future for us, Derek, and that's too bad because I obviously really like you." She stopped walking, causing Derek to stop beside her. "So, I'm letting you go before my heart breaks. And I know that it's mean, but I don't really want to talk to you anymore. I think a clean break is, well, I think it would be best. I also know that I have no right to ask you this, but could you wait a few days before you get back with Dr. Grey?"

Derek cleared his throat, arranging his words carefully in his mind. "If Meredith will take me back," he said, "I'll, uh, be with her as soon as she let me. Not that I think she should, because I've been as ass. I can do the clean break but I'm not sure about your last request." He stood directly in front of her, taking one of her hands in his. "I'm sorry, Rose, it wasn't fair to you. It probably never was. I'm sorry this has been awkward. I'll, uh, see you around."

"But, no talking," she reminded him, tears brimming in her eyes. He nodded, conceding to her. "No talking," she whispered. She pulled gently back on her hand, silently asking Derek to release it. When he did, she turned and went to the parking lot, most likely heading home.

As much as Derek missed Meredith, loved Meredith, he confessed to himself he hated to see Rose walk out of his life. She would have been a great friend but there was no way that it work to have the both of them in his life. Sighing, he adjusted the bag on his shoulder and crossed the street to Joe's where he planned on either talking to Meredith or seducing her. Either way sounded like a lot of fun.

GAGAGAGA

Mark was on his way back to his hotel room when his phone beeped, letting him know that he had a text message.

_Call Emma. She needs to talk. Later._

Derek wanted him to call Emma? Granted she was the only Shepard girl still talking to him. He made the drive back to the hotel in silence, not evening turning the radio on. He made it to his room without incident. It had been a hard day and all of surgeries had been canceled so he had nothing to distract him from what the nurses doing. And then Callie . . . Callie had called him useless because he didn't want to have sex with her. He dropped his jacket on the floor and flopped onto his bed.

The rings later, a tired sounding Emma answered the phone. "Riggs."

"Hey."

"Oh, Mark, hey," she said. "I heard you had a rough day."

He told her about his surgeries being canceled and Dr. Bailey's speech to the complaining nurses. She was very sympathetic, which Mark appreciated. "You should come visit."

"Not a chance," she told him. "I have surgeries scheduled all week. That's not to mention the emergency ones I'll have to scrub in on. Abby has a dance recital I have to figure out a way to attend and Mom is breathing down my neck about Derek." She sucked in a breath. "Sorry."

"Eh, don't worry about it. Derek forgave me, right? You forgave me. So the others will follow," Mark said. Mark would never admit it, not even to Derek, that having his "family" turn their back on him had been the worse thing he ever had to live through. Emma had held out on him for two weeks until she talked to Addison and then she had waited for three days to talk to Mark about it. At that time, though, all of the sisters and Mom were talking to him, so it wasn't a big deal that the youngest wasn't. He was glad to have her in his corner, though, when Nancy went back east with the tales that Derek told. Not that Derek lied, but it had hurt just the same that they had turned their backs on him.

"Yeah, but you've been there for nearly everything, Mark. If Derek hadn't been such an idiot, he'd be blissfully happy. He still happier now then he was in New York with Addison. I wanted to talk to you, though, about Mom."

"What about her? Is she okay," Mark asked.

Emma laughed. Mark was still so concerned with them even though they all claimed they wanted nothing to do with him. Sometimes life could be so cruel. "She's fine. She's decided that the five of us are going to Seattle. We're leaving in a couple of days and I just wanted to give you a heads up. I'd stay out of their way if I were you."

Mark sighed. "Thanks."

"Hey, you can take me to dinner if you want."

Mark laughed. "Who's taking care of Abby?"

"Ben," she said. "Carl is coming up from Pittsburgh with his and Tessa's kids and staying in Kathleen and Ben's place. So they'll have Kathleen's kids and Tessa's kids and my daughter."

"Terrance staying in Connecticut with his bunch?"

"Yeah," Emma said, "I guess. You know how the Tooth Fairy is." Terrance Murphy was a dentist in Hartford, Connecticut. Emma had been pretty young when Terrance and Nancy started dating and she had taken to calling him to Tooth Fairy, which had stuck all these years later. "Listen, Mark, people are only going to treat you as they perceive you. If you act a certain way . . ."

"Like a whore," Mark supplied.

". . .then you'll be treated a certain way," she finished. "Quit calling yourself that, it isn't helping."

"I know."

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

"You mean now," Mark asked, sitting up, pressing the phone closer to his ear.

Emma rolled her eyes. "In general, what are you going to do about it in general?"

"Er . . ."

A/N: Next up, Derek and Meredith talk . . . I think.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This chapter is still in third person, just in Meredith's POV.

Chapter Four

It was bright. Too bright. Meredith looked through narrowed eyes at her surroundings. She definitely wasn't at home.

"Hey," a familiar voice said, "do you want some coffee?"

Braving a searing headache, Meredith opened her eyes to find Derek standing in the doorway. She was in his trailer, in his bed. She groaned. "What the hell happened last night?"

"You're a fun drunk, Mer," Derek teased. "Coffee?"

"Please."

Meredith closed her eyes and tried to think about last night. She had been in Joe's, ranting to an irritated Cristina and an amused Izzie when Derek had called her. She didn't remember much past that.

"What happened," she asked as she felt the bed dip beside her as Derek sat down. She sat up and he pressed a coffee mug into her hand. Yum, made just the way she liked it. "You remembered," she said, half in awe.

"Of course I did," he said, "how could I forget?"

"Tell me what happened," she requested.

"Not much of anything," Derek confessed, deciding not to tease her. "You were out of it. We talked, but I don't think any of it sunk in. Oh, and you told my sister everything."

"What?"

"My sister, Emma, called to check in on me," he explained, "you took the phone and told her what a horrible person I am." He smirked. "And then you complained that you still loved be despite my being horrible."

Meredith groaned, leaning back against the pillows. The night was coming back in pieces and the pieces weren't in order. "Alright, so we talk now." At least they were both still dressed, she thought.

"The kissing rule," she said, suddenly as another piece of last night floated into recent memory. Derek just smiled. "Oh, no," Meredith said, pressing her left palm into her forehead, her right hand still clutching the coffee cup. "She said something about six seconds. Hold on, I'll remember." Derek waited patiently, amused at how adorable she looked, hung-over in the morning. "Something about when two people are fighting . . . oh, I give up." She sipped the coffee. "Alright, I remember agreeing to talk to you and you calling me, but I don't remembering anything else between that and the conversation with . . ."

"Emma."

"Emma," Meredith repeated. "I should go back to sleep."

"You can, if you want," Derek said, "it's still fairly early and I thought I might fish for a while." Meredith nodded so Derek took her coffee mug and set it on the nightstand before leaning over and kissing her forehead. Meredith smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

GAGAGAGA

"You and Rose broke up," Meredith said, dressed in her clothes from the night before and one of Derek's sweatshirts. She had walked to the lake to find Derek sitting on the bank, his fishing pole beside him, not in use. He nodded. She sat beside him. "Tell me," she requested.

She was proud of herself. She felt as if she was handling this really well. Dr. Wyatt had been helping her with a lot of Derek related issues, although she hadn't talk to her yet about any of her other ones. They had not, however, discovered if Meredith had enough trust in the relationship for it to work. She trusted Derek, she was sure of it, even when he did things that should make her not want to, she did.

"I met with Rose last night to end it," he said, "but she beat me to the punch. She told me I was still in love with you and that I didn't see a future for her and I." He glanced over to see Meredith quietly contemplating what he was saying. "She's right, you know," he said, "and it's not fair. Not fair to you, or her, or me." Meredith nodded. "Do you have anything to say?"

"I . . . I don't know."

Derek nodded and went back to staring at the lake.

"I have an appointment at the hospital this afternoon," she said after a while.

"Is everything okay?"

She nodded, deciding to test the trust Dr. Wyatt was always talking about. Turning to gauge his reaction, she told him, "I've been seeing Dr. Wyatt for the last few weeks or so."

"Good, that's good," Derek said after a few moments, figuring out who she was talking about. "How's that going?"

"Good."

Derek chuckled.

"What?"

"So, it's 'good' instead of 'fine' now? That's a change."

Meredith smiled in spite of herself. He definitely had a point. "Do you want to go," she found herself asking.

"To your appointment? Yeah, I . . . yeah, that would be great. Thanks." He stood up and then reached down to pull her up. "I have to call my Mom before we go."

"I promise I won't take the phone from you," Meredith smiled. Derek shook his head and they walked back to the trailer. "You didn't catch any fish," Meredith observed.

"No, I caught something better," Derek smiled before standing up and pulling her up with him. They walked back to the trailer hand-in-hand. Derek sighed. It was time to call his mom and bite the bullet.

GAGAGA

Meredith had called to see if she could get an extra session. One just for her and then one with her and Derek. Dr. Wyatt had been happy to accommodate them and happened to have the hour after Meredith's scheduled appoint available. So, Derek decided to call his mother while Meredith was having her alone session.

"So, you and Derek are talking," Dr. Wyatt asked.

"Yes."

"And how's that going?"

"I don't know," Meredith said, leaning back in her chair as Dr. Wyatt starting writing in her notebook.

"You don't know? Well, is it going well or isn't it?"

"As far as I can tell it's going well. Apparently, I talked to one of his sisters last night," Meredith said, sighing. It was so embarrassing to think about. What if his sister told his other sisters and his . . . mother! Oh, god. They probably thought she was trashy and pathetic.

"How many sisters does Derek have?"

"Four," Meredith answered. "We talked a little bit about them last night: Kathleen, Nancy, whom I've met, Tessa, and Emma. I talked to Emma."

"What did you two talk about?"

It was moments like this that Dr. Wyatt really got on Meredith's nerves. Didn't she want to talk about the fact that she had gotten drunk and let Derek take her back to his place? Didn't she want to talk about the fact that they hadn't had sex even though Meredith had been thinking about it, specifically Derek's talented tongue, for weeks now?

"Derek," Meredith sighed. "Apparently I told her that her brother was horrible but despite all of his horribleness that I loved him anyway."

Dr. Wyatt nodded as she continued to take notes. "Well, that's nothing new," Dr. Wyatt smiled, "we've already established that you love him."

"Yes, but now _we've_ established that with Derek's _sister_," Meredith exasperated. Could she not see what a problem this was?

"You mentioned you met his sister – Nancy. When did that happen?"

"What after Derek and Addison's divorce."

"And this didn't go over well," Dr. Wyatt asked.

Meredith shook her head, on the verge of laughing. "I went to Derek's to talk to him. He was just coming out of the shower and Nancy was lying on his bed. I assumed the worst. And Nancy, well, Nancy just didn't like me. I think she and Addison are close or were close, I'm not sure if they're still talking."

"Oh," Dr. Wyatt said.

Meredith just looked at her. "Listen, can we talk about last night before Derek gets in here?"

"What about last night?"

"I got drunk," Meredith stated. Dr. Wyatt nodded, so she continued. "I let Derek take me back to his place and we didn't have sex."

"That's good. You two are growing, I would think. How much talking was there if you were . . . intoxicated."

"Lots of talking," Meredith said, standing up, "too much talking! I don't remember everything but there were a lot of spoken words." She started pacing across the small office.

Dr. Wyatt looked up from her notebook, amused. This was the first time that Meredith had paced in her office. "Communication is a good thing. A healthy thing, even. Is all the talking bad?"

"I can't remember," Meredith mumbled, still pacing. "I'm strong. I'm independent. I've never needed anyone before. I mean, yeah, I have Cristina, and Izzie, and George, and Alex, but I've never _needed_ anyone so much in my life and . . ."

"And it scares you," Dr. Wyatt supplied.

Meredith nodded. "I don't think I'd survive him leaving again. I don't . . . I can't. . ." Meredith sat down abruptly.

"Maybe it's time to bring Derek in, now, hmm?"

Author's Note: The six second rule was derived from this: today.msnbc./id/24582786/

Next Chapter: Derek's conversation with his mother; Derek and Meredith talk to Dr. Wyatt. (So far anyway, I suppose it's subject to change)/


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I know that I had been really good on updating everyday (a first for me, in fact) but "Losing My Mind" really

Author's Note: I know that I had been really good on updating everyday (a first for me, in fact) but "Losing My Mind" really through me off. I was hoping for some freaking hope, even though we were promised a resolution by the end of the season as far as Meredith and Derek are concerned. Regardless, it kind of stopped me in my tracks and made me rethink some of my approach. Also, this chapter was hard to write. Maybe I'm just using the last episode as an excuse. Whatever. This chapter was hard to write because I never really thought about Derek's mother a whole lot. She has to miss him, sure, but I kind of think she'd be pissed at him (along with the rest of his family, except Emma, who – in this story, at least – has been able to talk to him). I hope you like this chapter. Reviews are appreciated.

Chapter Five

Derek had found a secluded place to make his phone call. So, it happened to be a linen closet on a different floor, but in the grand scheme of things, that really didn't matter. Taking a deep breath, Derek scrolled through the phone book on his cell to find his mother's home number.

"Shepard Residence," his mother said breathlessly.

"Hi," he said quietly.

"Derek! Oh, goodness. Hold on, just a moment." He heard her set the phone down on the table and run around. She had probably just come in from outside, finishing one project or another in the yard. "There, that's better. I was filling the birdfeeders," she said. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

"Oh, you know, I just wanted to call and find out how everything is going."

"What's wrong? Is everything alright?"

Derek was surprised that his mother had recognized his voice so easily over the phone after nearly a year and a half. Actually, he expected her to be pissed, if he were to be totally honest with himself.

"Everything is fine," he assured her, "I just thought it was time to call."

He heard his mother "tsk" at him and he smiled. Alright, so he missed his Mom and this was as good an excuse as any. He had been used to seeing any or all of his sisters at anytime on any given day, even though Nancy lived in Connecticut and Tessa lived in Pennsylvania. Kathleen and Emma were the only ones left in New York City now. His Mom lived further upstate.

"How are you, Derek? How are you really?"

"Good," Derek said, surprised at the amount of concern in her voice. He shouldn't have been, but he was. "Mom, really, I'm fine. Mark and I are talking. Meredith and I are talking. Everything and everyone is fine."

"You're talking to Mark," his mother asked, sounding slightly outraged.

"Yes," he said, confused, "why wouldn't I? He's my brother. He's my best friend." That fact was, Derek was immensely glad to have Mark back in his life. He had missed his oldest friend and, as Emma had repeatedly pointed out, he wouldn't have ended up in Seattle or have met Meredith. Even when he and Meredith weren't doing so well, he was glad to be in Seattle, glad he had met her. She had changed his life, in so many ways, and he often took her for granted.

"He slept with your wife."

"Ex-wife," Derek corrected. "Addison and I weren't exactly happy, Mom."

"So you work on it," his mother cut in, "you don't give up. You don't run away."

"It wouldn't have been worth it," Derek told her. "We're both much happier now." He had talked to Addison when she had made it back to Seattle and Emma had brought him up-to-date the other day. Addison was much happier in L.A., without him. If they had stayed together, she never would have ended up there, of that Derek was certain. And now she had Naomi and Sam and the cop and she was happy. Addison was happy.

Derek had moments of happiness. He spent most of his time being miserable and he was coming to the conclusion that it was mostly his fault. Alright, so it was his fault he was unhappy but his mother didn't need to know that.

"Mom, seriously, things are good," he lied. Well, not really lied. They were on their way to good. Close enough. "I miss you."

"Oh, honey, I miss you, too," she said. "I can't believe it's been so long. We're coming out to visit soon. Me and all of your sisters. You just started at a new hospital and I'm sure it's not easy to get some time off. I'm still working on the arrangements. Is that okay?"

"Perfect," Derek found himself saying. "That sounds great. Just, the last time Nancy was here, well . . ."

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I'll take care of Nancy. Don't be a stranger now, Derek. You'll call me soon, right?"

"Right," Derek said. "I, uh, have to go. I have an appointment I don't want to be late for."

He was surprised his mother hadn't outright yelled at him. His family was coming to Seattle. They were going to be mean to Mark. Mark would act like he didn't care, but Derek would know better.

His pager went off. Psych. Derek got up off the floor and went into the hallway.

"In there by yourself, Shep?"

Derek turned to find Mark standing there. "What if I was?"

Mark smiled. "Just checking? Drinks after work?"

"I'll think about it," Derek said. He was hoping for more time with Meredith, to work on things, but so much depended on this appointment with her therapist. "See you, later."

"Yeah," Mark said, grabbing a chart and walking off.

Derek hadn't wanted to tell him he'd been talking to Mom. He took the stairs two at a time and knocked on Dr. Wyatt's door before going in. Meredith was sitting on a coach, her eyes bloodshot with tears brimming in them. "Are you alright," he asked, crossing the room in two strides to sit beside her. Cautiously, he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her into his chest where her sniffles turned into full-blown sobbing. "It's okay," he soothed, "let it out. It's okay."

He was completely out of his element here and he had no idea why she was crying. He glanced at the therapist, who had an amused smile on her face. Derek rolled his eyes and pulled Meredith into his lap, secretly glad she was letting him do so.

His phone rang.

"Shepard," he said.

"What did you do now," Emma asked, exasperated, "that you have a woman crying?"

"Who said I did anything," Derek asked, indignantly. "I don't have time to talk right, now, Emma . . ."

"Whatever," Emma cut him off. "Mom told me you called her. You made her day. I just wanted to say thank you before my meeting with Travers."

"Everything okay," he asked. He had a lot of things to smooth over apparently, abandoning Emma during her tryst as Chief Resident last year was one of them.

"Fine," she said, easily, "he has a consult coming up, I think he wants me to go. Listen, I'll talk to you later. But, I just wanted to remind you to continue talking to Meredith. Communication and all that jazz. And for goodness sake, take care of yourself, you sound exhausted. Oh, and one more thing, it's a good thing that girl loves you so much because I would have kicked your ass to the curb long ago."

"Love you, too," he said, hanging up the phone and tossing it on the small table in front of him.

"Who was that," Dr. Wyatt asked, curiously.

"My youngest sister, Emma," Derek told her, still rocking Meredith back and forth gently as she got her breathing under control and her sobbing started to subside. "Are you alright," he asked her quietly. She nodded, her face still pressed into his chest. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" She shook her head, no. "And why not," he asked, a smile on his face. It reminded Derek of when his sisters were younger or when his nieces were upset. Deciding that was the best way to go about it, he leaned back so Meredith could no long bury her face and used two fingers to lift her chin. "C'mon, tell me what's wrong."

She hiccupped. "Everyone always leaves me," she said, taking a deep breath, "and I don't want you to leave. I don't want to be alone, not like my mother, but it's the only thing I know how to do. I've _always _been . . . And Cristina . . . Burke . . . and I don't want to be alone." She broke into fresh sobs.

Derek always suspected that the demise of her friend's relationship with Preston Burke had something to do with pushing him away these last months. The "only thing I know how to do" comment threw him off. She had always been alone, ever since she was five. He knew that. He . . .

"You are a remarkably strong person, Meredith Grey," Derek told her, "and you've done things on your own that you shouldn't have. You don't have to anymore. You have Cristina, Izzie, George, and Alex. Heck, you even have Bailey and the Chief . . . and Mark and Lexie, if you want. And me. Always, Meredith, always." She leaned back away from him. "What?"

"Seriously," she asked him, exasperated, as silent tears fell down her pale face.

"Yes," he told her, holding his ground, "I know that we haven't exactly had the easiest relationship but nothing easy is worth it. We have to fight for what we want, work for it. You've been fighting all your life just to stay afloat. Let me fight for us, just don't fight me."

"That will fix everything," Meredith asked, sarcastically.

"No," Derek told her, shaking his head, "but it's a start."

Author's Notes: I don't always get a chance to write everyone back when they review, so I wanted to do it here. I really appreciate your reviews and they brighten up my day. Keep it up! Also, if anyone has any suggestions for this story, I'd appreciate that, too.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes: You may (or may not) have noticed that I'm crap when it comes to Psych. Since I don't feel like doing research on it, I'm just going to try and go with common sense. Hope it works. . .

Chapter Six

They had talked with Dr. Wyatt for another half an hour and at the end came up with a schedule. Meredith would have two sessions a week by herself and then an addition one with Derek. Dr. Wyatt had also suggested that Derek find a therapist of his own to work through the things that came up in the joint session.

"Kathleen doesn't count," Meredith said, after Dr. Wyatt made the suggestion.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Wyatt asked.

"Kathleen, his sister, is a psychiatrist," Meredith said, "she doesn't count. What? You mentioned it once and so did Emma." She shrugged.

Derek nodded, "Fair enough. Any suggestions?"

"I'll comprise a list, Dr. Shepard, and page you."

"I'll pick it up tomorrow," he said. "Thank you."

"Can I have the last few minutes with Meredith," she asked. Derek nodded, kissed Meredith's cheek (because he felt like it) and left the room. "That was interesting," she said, when the two of them were alone. Meredith nodded in agreement. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking," Meredith said, slowly, "that I have to be proactive to make sure that my fear of being alone and dying alone do not become real life. I'm thinking that I'd survive if Derek left again and that I'd eventually be okay, but I don't want to have to go through that again. I'd have to leave or he'd have to leave because I can't stand to see him with someone else but not seeing him at all . . ."

"It's good that you're expressing your feelings, Meredith, make sure to listen to what they tell you."

GAGAGA

Derek had suggested lunch and Meredith realized she hadn't actually eaten yet. They went to a nice Italian place near the pier, overlooking the water. Afraid that Derek might bring up her drowning, she tried to steer the conversation to other things.

"We've never done this regularly, have we," Derek said, frowning.

"What," she asked, slightly agitated and greatly paranoid.

"Eat out," he said, "away from the hospital. We never really did that kind of stuff. We had breakfast once, but everything has either been at the hospital, your house, the trailer, or Joe's."

"That's okay," Meredith said, "that's us."

"Is it," he asked out loud, not really meaning to. "We're never done a lot of the customary things."

"We're us, though; we don't have to do what everyone else does."

Derek thought that over and agreed. "Still, I was raised in a house full of women. I should have done that kind of stuff without thinking." He leveled his gaze at her. "Prepare to be wooed like you've never been wooed before," he said in a very serious voice.

Meredith couldn't help it. She giggled. A smile appeared on Derek's face as soon as she giggled and he waited several giggle-filled minutes before interrupting. "What?"

"It's just . . . that was . . . okay, Derek. Game on. Just, be prepared to be wooed right back." _Pro-active_, she though. _That's very pro-active._

Derek smiled. He hadn't seen this side of Meredith in months. He couldn't wait.

GAGAGA

Meredith started a nine-day Plastics rotation the next day. When she went to file the chart she had from her latest patient, she found a large display of flowers sitting on the counter. "Secret Admirer," she questioned Olivia.

"Yours, maybe," Olivia smiled before answering the ringing phone.

Confused, Meredith set her chart down and grabbed the card.

_Hope you're having a good day._

_Let's have coffee_.

_D_

Meredith blushed. Derek was actually trying to woo her. Not that he had to do much, but it was nice to know he was thinking about her. Her competitive streak took hold. She had to outdo flowers. Junk food was out; Derek wouldn't touch the stuff. He had taken her out to lunch the other day . . . maybe a home cooked meal. But Meredith didn't really cook. She could make Meatloaf. Her Aunt taught when she was little. But meatloaf wasn't exactly romantic so she mentally made a list for the grocery store and another of things to do: invite Derek to dinner, invite roommates to dinner – and Cristina, Mark (for Derek), and George – and maybe Lexie, get Izzie to help and make something awesome for dessert.

Armed with a plan, she grabbed the next chart and got back to work.

"Grey," he said, "get one of your interns to grab the labs for 2216." Musical tones sounded from his phone. He smiled as he read the text message:

_Change of plans. I'm the only Shepard coming. Details soon._

He shouldn't have felt so bad about Emma being the only one coming to Seattle, but he was secretly relieved. He couldn't face the rejection of those women if they decided to never truly forgive him.

"What are you smiling about," Meredith asked after she sent Dr. Aaron to grab the reports.

"Emma's coming to Seattle."

"Oh," Meredith said. Derek must have forgotten to mention it. Speaking of the devil . . .

"Ooh," he said, smiling, "what are these?" He gestured to the flowers.

"From a secret admirer," Meredith said. "So, your sister is coming to Seattle?"

Derek frowned. He could have sworn he mentioned. "My head is all over the place," he said, placing his hand on her arm, reassuringly. "I totally forgot. Did Mark tell you?" He turned to Mark. "What have you heard?"

"Just Emma's coming," Mark said, "there's been a change of plans."

"Oh." Derek had been looking forward to seeing all his sisters and his mom. He turned to Meredith. "Well, Emma already loves you, so you're all set. Actually, you both get off pretty easy since Emma's the only one talking to you, Mark."

"Why is she the only one talking to him," Meredith asked, confused.

"They, uh, haven't forgiven me since they found out that Addie and I stayed together."

"So, you two are coming over for dinner tonight," Meredith said, deciding not to give them a choice. "The only thing I know how to make well is meatloaf. So, I hope that's okay."

Mark looked at Derek, waiting for a clue on how to proceed.

Derek's eyes twinkled. "You're going to cook? For me?"

"And Mark, and Izzie, Alex, Cristina, George, and . . . Lexie. If she'll come."

"I think that's fantastic. Do you want any help?"

"I can do it," Meredith said. "If I need help, Izzie can do it. You're both of at a descent time, right?" They nodded. "Good." She nodded to herself and walked away.

Mark looked at Derek. "_Is _she okay?"

"Great," Derek said, "she's great."

GAGAGA

Emma looked at her mentor, Edward Travers, and smiled. She couldn't believe what he had done. As she sat there, he was at his desk talking on the phone to her mother. "Yes, Mrs. Shepard. We'll certainly tell him. We will. Yes, I very much need Dr. Riggs with me. I'm very happy we were able to work something out. We will. Thank you, Mrs. Shepard."

Travers hung up the phone and looked up at her. "They'll let us go since I'm taking you along for the consult and then make arrangements for another time."

Emma laughed. "I knew you could do it, Travers. Thank you."

"Anytime. Now, I believe we're going to be late for a dance recital if we don't get along." They grabbed their belongings and went to the Recital Hall where they met up with Travers' wife, Lynn, who had taken Abby to rehearsal.

Since Travers was going to be there, he had arranged to make sure Emma wouldn't miss it. Their granddaughter, Cassandra, was also in the class. They sat behind Travers' son and his wife and watched the recital.

Emma was excited to go see her brother, even if she had to wait a couple of days. Derek had mentioned, more than once, that Meredith didn't do well with families and Emma had decided to make this as painless as possible for Meredith. Derek planned on marrying her one day and Emma was excited at the prospect of a new sister-in-law. She was going home to pack tonight, dropping Abby off at Kathleen's in the morning, and flying to Seattle with Travers before lunch. Derek was going to be so surprised . . . as long as Mark kept his mouth shut.

Author's Notes: I hope this isn't confusing. The last part was with Emma, in NYC. Let me know if anything needs clarification. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed. Reviews are appreciated (and make me smile, he he).


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This chapter was originally going to skip to when Emma shows up, but since I got a few comments about the dinner, I went back and wrote it. It worked out well, for me anyway, because I came up with a way to tie in some of the events from "Losing My Mind." Enjoy!

Chapter Seven

Izzie sat at the kitchen island, hiding her smile in a cup of coffee. It was taking all that Meredith had to mix the meatloaf. The big bowl kept tipping one way or the other as she used her small hands to combine the ingredients. "Are you making mashed potatoes," Meredith asked her.

Izzie sipped her coffee. "Yes, don't worry, I'm taking care of everything else." Meredith mumbled something and went about making the three pans of meatloaf she planned. "I made cheesecake for dessert," Izzie grinned. Meredith shook her head, placed the meatloaf pans on a cookie sheet, and placed the cookie sheet in the oven before washing her hands and flopping down in the chair beside Izzie. "Aww, poor baby, are you tired?"

"Yes," Meredith said, resting her head on Izzie's shoulder. Izzie giggled, setting her coffee down. "They'll be here soon. I picked up some liquor on my way home."

"Great idea, because we should all get drunk tonight," Izzie said sarcastically. The doorbell rang. "Alex, get that, would you?"

They heard grumbling as Alex came down the stairs, into the living room, and answered the door. "Bambi and mini-Grey are here," he called out. "Kitchen," he told them before going back up the stairs.

"What's wrong with Evil Spawn," George asked, coming into the kitchen, Lexie trailing behind him.

"Who knows," Izzie shrugged. They heard the front door open again. Derek and Mark soon came into the kitchen, arguing.

"I'm telling you, Mark, that I'm the favorite uncle," Derek was saying as he swooped in to kiss Meredith on the cheek. "They like me best."

"Not a chance," Mark said, "you weren't there for Thanksgiving or Christmas last year. You have a lot of ground to make up, Shep, and _I'm_ the favorite uncle." Mark flopped down on the chair beside Izzie. "Grey, Stevens," he greeted, "O'Malley, Little Grey."

"Dr. Sloan," they chorused.

"See, even these guys like me more than you," Derek laughed.

"Dr. Shepard," Izzie, George, and Lexie said, causing Mark to laugh.

"Aww, man, that's priceless."

"Dinner won't be for a little while," Meredith said, trying to figure something out that would keep them occupied.

"We could watch your Mom's tapes," George suggested, quietly.

"Oh, yeah, good idea," Meredith said. "George, will you set them up while Izzie and I finish dinner? Has anyone seen Cristina?" Everyone answered negatively and George led the two Attendings and his roommate out to the living room.

"So," Izzie smiled, "this is nice."

Meredith grinned.

"How are the two of you handling everything?"

"Slowly," Meredith answered. "We have a lot to sort out, but we'll get there."

"Oohh, confident Meredith," Izzie teased, "I like it." Meredith rolled her eyes and turned on the light in the oven. "It's not going to be done anytime soon," Izzie told her.

"Just looking," Meredith said. "What else?"

"We're going to make rolls, potatoes, and some vegetables," Izzie said, "you know, for Dr. Shepard."

"Derek," a voice corrected from the living room.

Izzie rolled her eyes. "Derek," she mocked.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Great meal, Grey," Mark said as he slipped into his leather jacket, "Stevens."

"Thanks," Izzie yelled from the kitchen where she was placing half the leftovers in containers for George and Lexie.

"Alright, well," Mark said, pulling Meredith in for a short, awkward hug, "er, see you at work. Emma comes in tomorrow." With that he left.

Cristina had made a short appearance. She had been in surgery with Hahn, which had ran late, and then stayed long enough to eat dinner and dessert before taking off on her motorcycle. Alex went back upstairs as soon as he was done with dinner, leaving Mark, George, Lexie, Izzie, Derek, and Meredith to small talk afterwards.

"Why was he nervous," Meredith asked Derek as they made their way to the door.

"Probably nervous I'd punch him again," Derek joked.

"Do you want to go for a walk," Meredith asked, suddenly. Derek agreed, so they grabbed their jackets and headed out the door. They walked hand in hand, silently, just enjoying the evening for about fifteen minutes before Meredith cleared her throat. Derek looked at her expectantly. "I didn't try to kill myself," Meredith said, the words rushing out of her mouth.

Derek looked at her, holding her hand a little tighter to get her to stop walking. He was confused. They hadn't been talking about anything remotely close to that . . . they hadn't been talking at all.

"I had just been in a fight with my mother," she said, "and she said things. And I hit the water and it was cold and for a second . . . just a second . . . not _even_ a second. . . I thought, what's the point? But, Derek, I would never, not really, I wouldn't do that to you . . . to anyone . . . I know how it feels . . . and I wouldn't."

"Okay," Derek said, slowly. They hadn't made it more than a few blocks from her house. He was partially relieved that she was finally, really talking about it, but he was confused as to what brought it on.

"Dr. Wyatt called me a coward and a quitter the other day," Meredith said. "I'm not a quitter. I'm not . . . I'm not my mother."

"Your mother?"

"I'm sure that you don't know this," Meredith said, deciding to explain – needing to explain, "but while my mother and the Chief were Residents here in Seattle . . . they had an affair."

Derek nodded. "The Chief mentioned it."

Meredith nodded, in turn, deciding to get an explanation later. "He went back to his wife. He went back to Adele, my mother left my father, and we went to Boston. She was okay for a few weeks, but she tried . . . she tried to drown herself in the bathtub."

Derek's breath hitched. He was transported back to the bathroom connected to Meredith's room the morning he walked in to find her underwater.

"My Aunt was staying with us at the time . . . or we were staying with her . . . some of the details are blurry. But I remembered what it felt like. And I wouldn't . . . I didn't . . . I was in shock, Derek . . . the water was so cold . . . and I was tired, so tired . . ."

Derek didn't know what to say. At a loss at what to do, Derek gathered her into his arms and held her against him. She had started crying. "We should go back," he told her gently, "we can talk some more inside."

She stepped back from him, her eyes red from crying. "Derek, seriously, I would never do that to you or anyone else."

"Okay," Derek said. He had almost said "I understand" but that would have been wrong because he didn't understand. Not really. He was mad at her mother, though, for putting Meredith through that. But, in a way, it explained so much about Ellis. Richard had left Ellis for his wife so why in the world would she have believed in soul mates and love and pass it on to her daughter when it obviously didn't work out for her? It explained so, so much.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

They had stayed up much later than they should have, beside each other in Meredith's bed, with the bathroom door closed. Derek was having a hard time just looking at the bathtub. They traded stories until the wee hours in the morning when they both dropped off to sleep. Derek was amazed that Meredith hadn't snored . . . not the whole night . . . or at least not loud enough to wake him.

Derek sighed. The morning had fallen back into their old routine. It was so natural, almost as if they never stopped . . . that all the bad choices and the awful things they had said to one another had never happened . . . but he knew better. They drove in together, in his car, and were both surprised to see Mark waiting for them in the lobby. "What's wrong," Derek asked.

"Nothing," Mark said, distractedly.

"You know, staring at the door isn't going to make her get here any faster."

"I know that," Mark snapped. "I just need to talk to her, alright?"

"About what," Derek questioned.

"None of your business," he said. "Grey, do you want to scrub in or are you going to be making goo-goo eyes at Shep all day."

"Me and my world class neurosurgeon have a clinical trail patient today, Dr. Sloan," Meredith said, smiling. "I have to go run the labs." She kissed him quickly and ran off to get on the elevator.

Derek couldn't contain his smile. Mark rolled his eyes and scoffed. "You two are disgusting," he said, not sounding all that agitated. "Emma is supposed to be in around lunch. Do you think you'll have time to join us?"

"Page me," Derek said and walked off, looking for the Chief. He heard around from some of the interns and lower level residents that Dr. Hahn was sometimes hard to get along with. It wasn't that Emma couldn't hold her own against a "bully," but Derek wanted her stay to be pleasant, so she'd visit again.

She and Travers were supposed to arrive in the afternoon. Which gave Derek plenty of time to get started on his new patient. He also had a craniotomy scheduled in an hour. He found Meredith outside the patient's room, waiting for him. "How's everything look," he asked. He noticed she had already changed into her scrubs and had thrown her lab coat on. Her interns, minus George, were standing around looking nervous. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing," Meredith looked around, following Derek's gaze to her gaggle of interns. "Hey, get to work. Dr. Bailey needs some help in the clinic if you can't find something to do."

"Ohh," Derek whispered, pretending to read the chart over her shoulder, "Bossy Meredith is back. I like bossy."

"I know," she whispered back, closing the chart and handing it to him. "I have to go talk to George real quick, I'll be right back." Derek nodded and called one of the interns over to retrieve the results from the labs.

He was in for a long morning.

Mark Sloan had never been so mad to be called in for an incoming trauma. Yes, he knew it was irrational and a waste of time to wait for Emma in the lobby, but the whole idea made him feel better. He had been having a bad couple of days and Callie Torres was not helping manners by constantly telling him to meet her in an on-call room.

He looked up from where he was operating, doing skin grafts on a patient with third degree burns on his arms. Chief Webber walked in followed by two doctors. Mark glanced at the clock and noticed the time was ten after twelve. The second, shorter doctor (obviously female) wore a custom-made black scrub cap with a white heart and a set of crossbones on each side. He knew it was custom made because he had been there when she ordered it.

"Dr. Riggs," he said, looking back down at the patient, "come assist me."

He heard her scoff. "Dr. Sloan, do I look like an intern," she asked. Mark smiled behind his mask. Even though she was slightly offended by the implication she had put on his statement, she still came off as professional and polite – not an easy task. He glanced back at her. "Dr. Sloan, you do realize that Seattle Grace is a teaching hospital, right? And that my chosen field is Cardiothoracic?"

"Yes."

"Then maybe you should teach one of the many interns or residents in the OR that may actually have some interest in Plastics instead of having me assist you with something you taught me years ago," she suggested, not sounding so professional.

Mark laughed. "Dr. Riggs, come assist me."

He heard her sigh and he was sure that one of the nurses was now helping her gear up for surgery. A moment later, she was standing beside him. "You two might as well continue on, it's unlikely Dr. Sloan will let me out of his clutches now that he has me."

Mark snickered. Emma was always good for a laugh. "Damn straight."

"Oh, well, Shep is doing an operation for one of his Clinical Trial patients," Richard Webber said, "I thought we could head over there."

Emma glanced at Mark and then back at Richard. "Alright, I'm coming," she said. "Dr. Sloan, if you insist, I can assist you later."

"I do insist," Mark said. "I'll even find something interesting for you."

"Sure, like Plastics is interesting," Emma said. "Bye, Mark."

"Bye, Emma. Oh, and tell Shep that you're mine today."

Emma shook her head and followed the two Chiefs of Surgery out of the OR and down the hall.

"Dr. Shepard," Richard greeted, walking into the OR, "Dr. Grey, how is everything going?"

"Fine chief," Dr. Grey said.

"We're just about to inject the virus simultaneously on both sides of the tumor," Derek explained.

"Who's idea was that," Emma spoke up.

"My apologies, may I introduce Doctors Edward Travers and Emma Riggs," Richard interrupted.

"We came up with the idea together, Dr. Riggs," Derek said.

"How very ingenious of you, Dr. Shepard," Emma said. "Dr. Grey, you should be very proud."

"Suck up," Travers muttered, teasingly.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Please, proceed." Derek nodded and turned to Dr. Grey – Meredith – and together they injected the virus into the tumor. Emma smiled to herself. They may be working on a medical break-through but she could see the love in their gazes as they sent the virus to attack the tumor. It was sweet in a creepy, morbid sort of way.

As soon as the virus was injected, things started going downhill fast.

"Time of Death, 13:10."

Derek tore his mask off and walked out of the OR. Emma and Meredith shared a slightly confused look before Emma took off after him.

"Derek," Emma said, following him into his office.

"Don't," Derek said, running his hands through his hair.

"Derek," Emma said, more firmly, "look at me." He did. "What went wrong?"

"The virus attacked the brain instead of the tumor."

"Why," she asked, as if she were a teacher.

"I don't know."

"Find out," she said. "Derek, you were the one to make sure that I understood before my first day as an intern that you can't save everyone and that you learn from your experiences. Yes, it's true, you haven't had success with this clinical trail so far, but you will. You're learning from each patient. They know the chances aren't good to begin with, but it's their best shot."

"Sometimes it feels as if we're just killing them," Derek said, sitting down, "as if there's no real hope and we're just killing them faster."

"Nonsense," Emma said, sitting down beside him. "Now, you have to talk to Meredith and the family and then you and I are going to talk."

"I have a craniotomy scheduled for this afternoon."

"And you're going have to fight Mark for me," Emma said, not missing his implication. "If this trail is getting to you . . ."

"I'll be alright," he said, giving her a small smile. She hugged him, shook her head, and left him alone to collect his thoughts before going to find Meredith and the patient's family.

When he found Meredith, fifteen minutes later, she was talking to the family of their latest patient. ". . . there was nothing else we could have done." He watched as the family accepted the news, still unsure what it all meant in the grand scheme of things, as Meredith turned away, spotting him. "Where's your sister," she asked.

"With Mark, I'm sure," he said. "Travers is pretty good about letting her do what she wants," he smiled. "I would have told them with you," he said, quietly.

Meredith shrugged. "You looked like you could use a breather," she said. "We'll get this, don't worry." Derek sighed. "Are you alright," she asked.

"I just feel like I'm failing you, failing them, but more importantly, failing you."

"Derek," Meredith said, gently, "you aren't failing me. We're close, I can feel it."

Derek's heart swelled at her enthusiasm. She didn't feel like he was failing her. That would get this right; Derek would make sure of it.

Author's Note:

Alright, it's been a while since I updated. Before I go on, though, how about the scene with the candles at the end of "Freedom"? Awesome, right? Right. Anyway, I'm trying to work things from the show in and still make all of this semi-believable. And Emma's in Seattle


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

_A/N: Okay, so I know that it's been _forever_ since I've update and I apologize. I do. Everything has been a little crazy and I just wasn't sure where I was going with this story. But I do now, I have a plan, and I'm putting it in motion._

_I hope to have many updates in the coming days but a little note now and then to tell me to get my ass in gear wouldn't hurt either. Thanks for sticking with me (at least I hope you have) and enjoy!! Megan_

_Chapter Nine_

"Oh, my god, Derek, you're happy."

"What," Derek asked. He had been looking over the chart of his afternoon craniotomy when his sister ambushed him by the Nurse's desk.

"I've been trying to figure out what's different about you all day," she told him, "and I figured it out. You are honest to goodness _happy_, Derek. Congratulations." She smiled at the nurse behind the desk. "Excuse me, Nurse -," Emma peered at the nametag, " – Olivia. Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Dr. Riggs, what can I help you with?"

"Do you think Dr. Shepard is happy?"

"Emma," Derek scolded. "Nurse Olivia, you don't have to answer that. In fact, I would rather you didn't. I'm just going to take my sister and leave . . . now." He grabbed Emma's arm and pulled her away from the Nurse's Station. "What was that about?"

"Nurses are so very helpful," Emma said, "and awfully chatty. Did you know? They have all kinds of things to say about you, Derek." His sister's voice was falsely sweet and her smile just a bit too wide to be genuine. He looked at her, trying to figure out what she knew. "I'm hungry, Derek, are we going to dinner anytime soon or should I try to eat something at the cafeteria?"

"You'd willingly eat hospital cafeteria food," Derek asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Unless you plan on feeding me, say, soon."

Derek nodded. "We can do soon. We should go change and get Mark and . . . Meredith. Meredith should come, right?"

Emma giggled. "Yes, Meredith should definitely come. I'm going to change back into actual clothes," she said, looking down at her black scrubs, "and then we can go." Derek nodded, grabbing his cell phone as Emma walked away.

"Mark? Yeah, Emma wants to go to dinner. Sure, see you then." He hung up and went to change.

/ / / / /

Two months later, Derek paced the small stage in one of the gigantic conference rooms at Mt. Lenox Hospital in New York City. Meredith sat nearby going over her notes obsessively. The two of them had experienced several successes with their clinical trail since Emma had returned to New York. As news spread of their success, several hospitals invited them to speak at small conferences they were putting together. Mt. Lenox had been the last on the list because Derek planned to spend a week in New York afterwards. Meredith had enough to be worried about, so she had blocked that particular fact out until after their last presentation.

Derek looked up as the big doors on the other side of the room opened. He watched Emma, long curly hair tumbling down her shoulders, maneuver around the tables and chairs to the stage. She smiled the whole way and Derek couldn't help but smile back. He was such an idiot. He loved his family and he always forgot how much he missed them until he saw them again. His mother had made a trip to Seattle just last month. She hadn't talked to Mark at all, but she had spent time with Derek and met Meredith, with whom she was very happy with.

"Well, don't I get a hug hello," Emma asked, smiling. Her scrub cap had been stuffed into her pocket and the scrub gown she had worn in surgery hung open over her scrubs. Derek hurried quickly down the few steps to wrap her in a bear hug. "Ack, cripes, Derek, watch it," she complained, laughingly. "Hey, Mer," Emma called as Derek put her down. Meredith mumbled a salutation, never looking up.

"She's nervous," Derek whispered. Emma shook her head. "She's done this at least half a dozen times."

"Nervous is good," Emma told him. "Look, I just got out of surgery, so I can't stay long, but I'll be here for your presentation, I wouldn't miss it."

"Dr. Riggs," a voice called from the other side of the room. Derek and Emma rolled their eyes as Meredith ignored the interruption. "Didn't Chief Travers expressively forbid _anyone_ to come into this room until this evening?"

"If that's the case, _Doctor Neilson_, then what are you doing here," Emma said, rolling her eyes.

Derek smiled. He and Henry Neilson had been interns together and had been battling against each other for over a decade. Neilson was the current Head of Neuro and had been since Derek left. It was the only way the other surgeon would have ever been able to get the position. Since Neilson had never been able to get back at Derek, he had taken to making Emma's life as miserable as possible, especially after Derek was no longer in New York.

Neilson's lips set in a hard line. "May I remind you, Dr. Riggs, that I am an Attending and therefore . . ."

"You're an ass," Emma suggested, innocently. Derek turned his head to hide his smile this time. He may not work at the hospital anymore, but he couldn't be encouraging his sister's bad behavior, even if he approved of it at the moment. "I just came to see my brother before his presentation, Dr. Neilson," Emma sighed, "and now I'm off to find McKay." She turned back to her brother. "You're staying in the guest room, right?" Derek nodded. "You have the key. See you later." She hugged him again, tightly, and ran off through a side door so she wouldn't have to pass Neilson.

Derek turned to look at the other man. Not much had changed in almost two years. "Shepherd," Neilson said, nodding to him.

"Neilson," Derek volleyed back. With that, the other surgeon turned on his heels and out of the room. Derek shook his head. Neilson _was_ an ass. "You'll be wonderful, Meredith," Derek said, sitting down beside her, putting his arm along the back of her chair. "You shouldn't worry so much," he smiled at her.

Meredith looked up just in time to see Derek use his McDreamy smile on her. She melted. Then she swore. Who was he that she melted when he _smiled_ at her. "What's wrong," he asked.

"Quit _smiling_ at me," she hissed, "I need to concentrate."

Derek chuckled at her as his phone rang. "Shepherd," he answered.

"Shep, it's Mark."

"Hey, Mark, what's up?"

"I just told Emma that I would meet you guys for the trip to Mom's for the picnic this weekend," Mark said, sighing. "I didn't even think . . . could you kind of clear the way for me?"

"I'll make a few phone calls. You should have Emma call Tessa though. The two of them are close and she can explain or at least sway her. I'll call Kathleen a little later and go from there," Derek said. "It'll be okay. Did you get a flight?"

"Yeah, I leave in a few hours. I'll be there in the morning. I'm sorry to put this on you, man, but I . . ."

"Listen, they won't talk to you, so I'll do it for you," Derek said. "Don't worry about it, I got your back." Mark sighed. "Don't worry so much, if I got over it why should they still be mad?"

"Because no one holds a grudge better than a Shepherd woman," Mark told him. "You know that. Remember when we were seven and we buried Nancy and Kathleen's dolls in the backyard? They didn't talk to us for months."

"It was a quiet few months," Derek commented.

"Whatever. Thanks, man, I'll see you later." They hung up. Derek smiled to himself and went back to doing last minute preparations for the presentation. He was busy meeting people and catching up with old acquaintances before he knew what was going on. Then there was the business of introducing Meredith and making sure she got the credit she deserved so people wouldn't paint her as riding on his coattails.

Hours later, they were nearly done with their presentation. It would be the last one for a while and Derek was looking forward to the mini-vacation with his family. It honored him that so many surgeons that he knew, that he admired, had come to hear what he had to say, had come to hear what they had accomplished. He was just starting his closing thoughts, when the doors on the other side of the room opened and Emma walked in. She wore a little black dress, her hair down, and she carried her high heels in one hand as she walked through the room. He rolled his eyes when he noticed a lot of the older surgeons eyeing his sister. They had been eyeing Meredith most of the night, too.

"Dr. Riggs," Derek said, stopping his presentation, "perhaps you could find your seat quickly so we could continue the presentation."

"Dr. Shepherd, perhaps you are too easily distracted," she countered back, smiling. The occupants of the room chuckled, but the Chief of Surgery turned and glared at her. "Well, continue on, don't let little old me stop you," she said, making her way to the table near the front. The Chief of Surgery leaned over and whispered in her ear. Derek noticed that instead of looking chastised, she was smiling.

He finished up his speech, thanking everyone for their time, and was moving away from the podium when someone grabbed his arm. "Hold on, now, Dr. Shepherd," Emma said, pulling him back, "we aren't quite finished. For those of you who haven't figured it out, I'm Dr. Emmeline Riggs. And it's on behalf of Chief Travers and Mt. Lenox Hospital of New York City, I'd like to present these plaques of Appreciation to Dr. Derek Christopher Shepherd and Dr. Meredith Elizabeth Grey for taking time out of their busy schedules to share their new discovery with us. And also on behalf of Mt. Lenox Hospital and its staff, along with the participants at today's conference, I would like to wish Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Grey many continued successes in the future." She handed them the plaques, ignoring protocol and hugging them both instead of shaking hands. "Great job, Dr. Grey," Emma whispered.

"Thanks. I was so nervous," Meredith confessed. The Q & A session that happened before Emma had gotten there and Meredith hadn't been sure that she would be able to focus. She had done wonderfully, though, and the session had gone off as well as could be expected.

"Travers said you were very professional," Emma commented. "No show me which jerk tried to say that you were using your personal relationship to get ahead professionally."

"It's not necessary, Emma," Meredith tried to tell her.

"Nonsense," Emma cut her off, "your family now. Point the way." Under the guise of introducing Meredith personally to a number of highly successful surgeons, Emma waited patiently for Meredith to point the perpetrator out. "Dr. McKay, may I introduce Dr. Meredith Grey. Dr. Grey, this is Dr. Thaddeus McKay, Head of Cardio here at Mt. Lenox."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Meredith said, shaking the doctor's hand.

"Yes," Thaddeus agreed, "it is." The three of them stood together, each sipping from a glass of chilled champagne when Emma stopped. Behind her Travers, Derek, and Henry Neilson stood talking with two Professors from Bowden University, Derek's Alumni.

As Thaddeus and Meredith discussed the development of the technique used in the procedure, Emma eavesdropped on the conversation behind her.

"Well, Travers, it must be great to have Shepherd back on familiar ground," Professor Adams said.

"Seattle is lovely," Derek spoke up, "and very rewarding."

"Yes, I imagine it's wonderful to give your girlfriend extra surgeries," Neilson said, bitterly.

"I don't do that. She came to me with the idea . . ."

"Now, now, boys, fight nicely," Professor Black cut in. "It must be nice, Travers, to not have to worry about who is taking your place when you step down next week. There's only one candidate even interested in the position with McKay taking the position at Royal Savoy and the other Attendings wanting to spend time with their families."

"Yes, it was exceedingly easy," Travers agreed, readily, "but we're still considering a few outside candidates." Neilson scowled.

Emma reached out and grabbed Thaddeus' arm to steady herself. She knew that the Head of her department was moving to England in the coming weeks, he had spent the last couple months convincing her to come with him, but no one had said a word about Travers stepping down. "Emma, are you okay," Thaddeus whispered, "you look pale."

"Travers is leaving," she asked, barely audible.

"You weren't supposed to find out yet," he said, putting an arm around her waist and making sure she stayed upright. "Let's go, I think your day has been long enough. Dr. Grey are you sticking around or did you want to call it a night as well?"

"Let me just get Derek . . ."

Thaddeus nodded and led Emma out of the room to grab her belongings from her locker.

Meredith eased herself into the conversation, standing by Derek's side.

"So, Dr. Grey," a man that was introduced to her as Professor Adams said, "you must be very proud of what you accomplished."

Meredith nodded. "It was a lot of extra hours," she commented, "but well worth it. This procedure will save the lives of hundreds in the coming years, the lives of people who wouldn't otherwise have a chance. Dr. Shepherd, may I speak to you a moment?" Derek excused them and let her guide him away. "I'm not sure what happened, but Emma got really pale. It was something about Travers . . . Dr. McKay said he was taking her home."

"We should probably go, too. This thing could last all night. Let me just let Travers know and we can go." Meredith waited patiently, graciously accepting congratulations as she stood there. Derek was ready to go fifteen minutes later and they headed to the Fellow's locker room to find Emma and Thaddeus. They found Emma on a bench as Thaddeus packed her bag to go home.

Derek knew that Travers was planning on leaving, it was one of the many reasons Travers had insisted that Derek and Meredith make Mt. Lenox one of their stops. Travers and Richard Webber had been talking over the last two weeks and had been busy making arrangements for Emma to transfer to Seattle Grace and finish her Fellowship with Erica Hahn. Emma didn't know any of that, though, and he imagined his mother would have a few words to say about all of that. Derek thought of something to cheer her up.

"Hey, Emma," he said, talking softly with a cheerful undertone as if he was talking to one of her small daughters instead, "guess what? Mark will be here in the morning. Won't that be great? You'll get to see Mark soon." Emma didn't say anything. She just sat there, staring at nothing.

"Hey, Emma," Meredith said, figuring she could try, "let's go home." Emma stood up and walked out of the locker room. They shrugged at each other and followed her, Thaddeus closing her locker as he walked by.


	10. Chapter 10

_I know that this has been a long time coming. I hope it was worth the wait. I'm working on the next chapter as we speak. Oh, and as of this chapter, this story has officially become a _Bones/Grey's Anatomy_ crossover. Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated._

_Chapter Ten_

The remainder of the evening had been a quiet one. Meredith, stepping out of her comfort zone, helped the unwilling Emma undress, climb into pajamas, and slide into bed. In the kitchen, Meredith, Derek, and Thaddeus talked in the kitchen over coffee. "I've never seen her like that," Thaddeus commented. "Not even after you left. Or Addison. Or Sloan. Or Jack, even."

"Jack," Derek questioned, "where did he go?"

"Jack Kane joined Doctors Without Borders shortly before Sloan left the last time."

"I didn't know that," Derek said, pulling Meredith closer to him after they settled in the living room with their coffee. "No wonder she jumped at a chance to come and visit."

"You underestimate your importance in her life," Thaddeus said. "She can let me go easily enough. Addison, too. But you and Sloan have been constant in her life. And Travers was the first one of us to give her a chance in the OR."

Derek knew all of this, of course, but to be reminded of it made him feel bad. He hadn't been there for his family in almost two years. He hadn't seen Kathleen or Tessa at all in that time or any of his brother-in-laws or nieces or nephews. He had seen Nancy once, shortly after his divorce and Emma and his mother's visits had been recent. They had all come to him though. He had made no move to see any of them. "Thank you for watching out for her," Derek said.

Thaddeus shrugged. "She reminds me of Athena, my sister, so it's not that big of a deal. I'm going to call it a night. I probably won't get to see you two before you leave so congratulations on your professional or personal endeavors," he said with a smirk. He left shortly after checking on Emma. Derek and Meredith sat quietly in the living room.

"Are you okay," Meredith asked quietly.

"I think so," Derek said, leaning back into the couch. "It's just, I left for me, I know that. It was like I was suffocating, like I was drowning, just being in New York. I needed to be away from Addison and Mark and I didn't even think of what it was doing to my family. Wow, I really am a jerk."

"You were hurt, Derek," Meredith corrected, quietly. "What did they expect you to do?"

"I imagine they wanted me to let them fix everything," Derek chuckled, quietly. "They've always tried to do that for me, ever since my father passed away. And I've always tried to do that for them, but all four of my sisters' feel they are independent and don't need me hovering."

"I know the feeling," Meredith giggled lightly. "Sometimes it's nice to let someone take care of you though." Meredith was exhausted and went to bed soon after that. She had never mentioned being upset about staying in his sister's guest room. He had noticed, though, that the guest room was now further down the hall. Abby used to sleep in the room when she was an infant because it was right across from the main bedroom where Emma and Miles used to sleep. Where Emma slept now. Abby now used the room that had been the guest room for so many years. He opened the door and noticed it had been completely repainted with new flooring. The room was decorated for a toddler in princesses, castles, and flowers.

He remembered when the walls of this room were a dark blue. He had even helped her pick the color out years ago. The floors used to be a dark oak and were now a funky purple plush carpet. He remembered being sprawled out on a queen size bed where a child's bed now sat, unused.

He was glad that he wouldn't see the rest of his family until tomorrow. Kathleen had taken Abby and had already went to Mom's with the rest of her family. The Fourth of July get together was always a big thing and he had missed it the last two years.

He also remembered showing up in his sister's doorway, stumbling drunk, and mumbling incoherently. It shamed him when he remembered that because he always tried to be the strong one. Emma had asked one of the neighbors to watch a sleeping Abby for the rest of the night and Emma had held him, soothed him, and listened as he told her that Addison had been with Mark.

"_. . . and Mark just left. Just mumbled and left. Just left. Gone. He left. She just stood there. She just . . . stood there and she stood there. Then she started crying. And yelling. Did I mention she cried? She told me not to leave. She didn't want me to go." _

He had drunk a lot of scotch that night. It had been lucky that Emma had an extra bottle in the liquor cabinet in her living room because Derek had needed it. He was almost catatonic for the next week and a half before a letter from Richard showed up, addressed to him at his sister's apartment. He knew that Emma had everything to do with that and he was grateful although he would never say anything about it. She knew and he knew and Richard knew. No one else needed to know. He had the impression that if his mother ever found out, he'd be gaining Abby as a ward because Mom would kill Emma for being an instrument in his escape. Derek made it worse, obviously, by cutting off contact to everyone but Emma. His mother didn't even know what had happened until she had called Addison (having not been able to get a hold of him) to invite the two of them to dinner.

His life had changed drastically, but seeing Meredith sleeping soundly in the (new) guest room in his sister's apartment made it worth it. They would make it through whatever life threw at them. She really was the love of his life and one day he was going to marry her.

/ / / / / / / /

Emma woke up with a headache. There was banging coming from her kitchen and she couldn't remember how she got home let alone what happened the night before. Meredith and Derek, decked out in their pajamas, were in the kitchen. Meredith was sitting on the counter of the island while Derek dug through cupboards. "Stop the noise," she told him, holding her head, "what are you looking for?"

"I want to make pancakes," Derek told her, opening another cupboard.

"Why, so you can murder them with sugar-free syrup? Move," she commanded. She found him a pan and the mix and then climbed onto a stool. "What happened?" Derek and Meredith shared a look. "What happened," she repeated.

"You overheard someone asking Travers about his retirement and then you went catatonic," Derek said after a while. "Let's have some breakfast so we can head out." Breakfast was a silent affair that allowed Derek and Meredith to spend most of the time staring at each other. After being plied with Ibuprofen and water, Emma quietly packed her bags, Meredith keeping her company by sitting on the bed, while Derek ran all the bags downstairs to the waiting, rented SUV. "Hey, look what I found on the curb," Derek yelled coming back into his sister's apartment.

Meredith led Emma out of the bedroom and into the lobby. A smile broke out on Emma's face as she raced across the living room and launched herself into a pair of waiting arms. "That's certainly a change," Meredith commented when Derek moved to stand beside her, wrapping his own arms around her waist.

"He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to come," Derek told her, quietly, "but I'm glad he did. Although, I'm not sure anyone else will."

"Mark," Emma said, eventually, releasing him, "I can't believe you're here."

Mark smiled down at her. "Of course I came," he told her.

"We'll meet you downstairs," Derek said, "we should probably leave soon." The two of them left.

"I missed you, Jerkface," Emma said, sitting down on the couch.

"I missed you, too," Mark said, pulling an envelope out of the bag at his feet and handed it to her, sitting beside her. "Open it," he said.

Emma rolled her eyes and ripped the envelope open. She pulled a very colorful greeting card with the word "CONGRATULATIONS" with equally colorful fake confetti around it. Glancing at Mark, she opened the card, causing something to fall in her lap. "What is this? 'Congratulations, Emma, you'll make a terrific Auntie.' Huh?" She picked up what had fallen on her lap and gasped. "Mark . . . I . . . who?"

"My friend Callie and I were together for a while. I think you met her when you were in Seattle. Anyway, we reproduced while we were together," he grinned. "We're still friends even though she's with Erica now."

"Hahn," Emma questioned. Mark nodded. Emma cocked her head to the side and studied the ultrasound. She sighed.

"What's wrong," Mark asked, concerned.

"It's too early to tell the gender!"

/ / / / / / / / / /

Derek had just finished making sure that everything was packed up in the SUV he rented, after moving all of Emma's bags to Mark's vehicle, when another black SUV pulled up in front of them. The passenger door opened and a stunning woman with auburn hair stepped out of the massive SUV. Meredith looked at Derek. "Who . . .?" The question died on her lips when the driver jogged around the front of the vehicle.

"Bones, I asked you to wait," the driver said.

"I'm perfectly capable of . . ."

"Booth," Derek questioned.

"Shep," Special Agent Seeley Booth smiled, looking at him. "We were just looking for you."

"Me," Derek asked, stepping forward to shake the man's hand, "is everything okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah, everything is fine. It's not a professional visit for us or for you. Where are my manners? This is my partner, Dr. Temperance . . ."

"Brennan," Meredith supplied. "I'm sorry, Emma has your books in her living room."

"Right, and I'm Seeley Booth," Booth said.

"_Special_ Agent Seeley Booth," Derek smirked. "This is my _girlfriend,_ Dr. Meredith Grey."

"And this is Dr. Derek Shepherd," Booth said to Bones. "Is that everyone? Great. Where's Emma?"

"Are you coming to the picnic," Derek asked.

"Yeah, I haven't told Lynnette yet, though."

Derek shook his head. "She'll be glad to have you. Mark's here, too."

"Really," Booth asked, shocked. Meredith giggled.

"Why are you so concerned about this Mark person," Bones asked.

"Er . . ."

"Mark is my best friend," Derek said, smiling, "and I came home one day and found him in bed with my wife. Long story short, I ran away to Seattle and met Meredith. I can't exactly be mad at him now that I see the end results."

"Derek, is everything ready to go, I . . . Seeley! What are you doing here?"

Booth smiled as his former partner's widow crossed the sidewalk and flung herself in his arms. He hugged her tightly, chuckling, before putting her back on the ground. She immediately tugged his t-shirt up. "How's your bullet wound? Have you been keeping in clean? If you get an infection . . ."

Booth laughed and pushed Emma's hands away from his chest, pulling his shirt back down. "It's fine. You can check it later, if you want, when we get to your Mom's." Emma narrowed her eyes at him. "She told me I was welcome whenever I wanted, all that I had to do was show up."

"Alright, then," Emma said. "Hi," she greeted, turning to the woman with the auburn hair. "You must be Seeley's girlfriend. I'm Emma Riggs."

"We're partners," the woman corrected. "I'm Temperance Brennan."

"Really," Emma said, "you two would make such a cute couple. Okay, then we'll see you two at Mom's. Mark, I'll keep you company." Mark led the young doctor away as Derek and Booth shared an amused smile. Emma watched as Derek guided Meredith to the passenger door of the SUV with his hand resting on the small of her back. She smiled when she noticed Booth doing the same.

MEREDITH & DEREK

"How do you know Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan?"

"Agent Booth used to be my brother-in-law's partner. Booth was transferred to D.C. and two weeks later Miles was killed."

"I'm sorry," Meredith said.

Derek smiled at her. "Thanks. Anyway, Booth and his family don't get along since he and his ex had a son. They're very devout Catholic."

"So," Meredith questioned.

"Booth and his _ex-girlfriend_ had a son. So it's the pre-marital sex and the child out of wedlock double sin," Derek smiled. "Booth had been spending his holidays with us though, for a while now. I don't know if he has been recently."

"Why did your sister feel him up?"

"No clue," Derek chuckled, "but I'm sure it's an interesting story."

BOOTH & BRENNAN

"See, Bones, that wasn't so bad," Booth said, pulling away from the curb to follow Shep.

"Yes, they were pleasant now but when they find everything out . . ."

"They'll love you, Bones, don't worry so much. The Shepherd's and the Washington's are good people. They take care of their own and take in the rest," Booth told her. "Your dad said just to show them your grandmother's ring, right? Everything will be fine."

"You don't know that for sure," Bones told him, turning to looking at him.

Booth met her gaze for two seconds. "Yes, I do." Bones turned away, causing Booth to smile to himself.

MARK & EMMA

Mark was glad that he waited to tell Emma first. Derek may be his best friend, but Mark couldn't count on him not to be jealous at this point. Derek really wanted a family and he and Grey hadn't been on good terms all that long. They had just pulled away from the curb when Emma pulled the ultrasound out again. "Did you bring a copy for Mom," she asked after a while.

"Yes."

"But you aren't sure she'll want it," Emma guessed. "You'd be giving Mom a lead again. She and Aunt Jocelyn are always try to one up each other in the grandkids department. She'll be so relieved."

"I'm not actually a Shepherd," Mark said quietly.

"They count Duncan, who isn't a Washington, and Duncan's kid," Emma pointed out, "and Mom will need a copy of the sonogram for the Book." She put the sonogram away. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because of last time," Emma said, simply, looking out the front window so she didn't have to look at Mark.

"Yeah, Callie knows about what happened with . . . Addison. She never considered that an option."

"Good. That's good."

"I'm okay. I know that there's nothing that can be done about it now and you can't lose what you never had," Mark said, following the other two SUVs into a right turn.

"I call Bullshit," Emma said. "I know that there's nothing you can do about it and knowing before she went wouldn't have changed anything either. But I know that you made plans, in your head that involved a child. You can't sit there and tell me you're okay. I _know_ better."

"Do you," Mark asked. Emma nodded. "Alright then." The rest of their drive was silent, each lost in thought.

_A/N: Not a lot of _Bones_ stuff, but not to worry, more to come._


End file.
